A former Philadelphia homicide detective was found guilty of violently coercing the false confession of a man who spent more than a decade in prison for a murder he did not commit.
On Tuesday, July 16, 2024, a jury convicted James Pitts of two counts of perjury and three counts of obstructing administration of law or other government function. He is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 4, 2024.
"I thank the jury for rendering a fair and just verdict in this case," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said. "I also want to thank Conviction Integrity Unit Chief Michael Garmisa and Assistant District Attorney Rebecca McDonald for their skillful prosecution of this historic case. This is the first time in our city’s history that a Philadelphia detective has been found guilty of coercing a confession that led to the wrongful conviction of an innocent person. My administration will continue to seek evenhanded justice in all cases prosecuted by this office, regardless of the defendant, because no one is above the law."
The guilty verdict is in connection to the wrongful conviction of Obina Onyiah, who was falsely accused of murdering William Glatz.
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The murder of William Glatz
On Oct. 21, 2010, two gunmen attempted to rob William Glatz at the Glatz Jewelry Store in Philadelphia’s Lawncrest neighborhood. Glatz got into a shootout with the two suspects. Both Glatz and one of the suspects were killed in the shootout while the second suspect escaped.
The escaped suspect was described by witnesses as a man who was “very slight of build” and standing 5-foot-7 or 5-foot-8. Onyiah, who stands 6-foot-3, was arrested in connection to the shooting after being implicated by a jailhouse informant.
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A false confession
While interrogating Onyiah in 2010, Pitts physically assaulted him. The attack led to Onyiah falsely confessing to murdering Glatz. Pitts also made false statements about the interrogation while testifying under oath and was a critical witness for the Commonwealth during Onyiah’s murder trial.
During the trial in 2013, Onyiah argued unsuccessfully that his confession had been physically coerced by Pitts. Pitts also denied assaulting Onyiah during a pretrial motion and jury trial in 2013.
Due in large part to Pitts’ actions, Onyiah was wrongfully convicted in Glatz’s murder. With the help of the District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, Onyiah’s conviction was vacated in 2021 after scientific evidence proved he could not have killed Glatz. The actual gunman who fled the murder scene still has not been found.
Pitts was later arrested and charged in 2022 following a grand jury investigation. The grand jury also determined that Pitts had physically assaulted his then-wife back in 2002 and lied to responding officers as well as investigators in a written statement, claiming both times that his wife had attacked him.
Pitts became a police officer in 1996 and was promoted to detective in 1999. He then joined the Philadelphia Police Homicide Unit in July 2006 and remained active in that unit during Onyiah’s 2013 murder trial.
Pitts’ conviction comes a year and a half after another ex-Philadelphia homicide detective, Philip Nordo, was sentenced to 24.5 to 49 years behind bars for sexually assaulting witnesses and informants.
